Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends

The show is about a tank engine, Thomas, and his friends who live on the Island of Sodor. Together, the engines work on the railways under the supervision of Sir Topham Hatt, the "Fat Controller." Thomas The Tank Engine actually dates back to 1945, when the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry created The Railway Series to amuse his son Christopher, who was suffering from measles. His wife Margaret encouraged him to publish the stories and he did so, going on to add another book each year (except 1947 and 1971) until 1972. Wilbert's son Christopher later continued The Railway Series up to 40 books. In 1984 Britt Allcroft decided to turn the stories into a TV series with Ringo Starr as the narrator. He was replaced by Michael Angelis in 1991, who still narrates today.